Meenachil
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Meenachil മീനച്ചിൽ |
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|---|---|
| town | |
Illikkal Rock
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| Coordinates: 9°42′N 76°42′E / 9.7°N 76.70°ECoordinates: 9°42′N 76°42′E / 9.7°N 76.70°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Kerala |
| District | Kottayam |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | KL-35, KL-67 |
Meenachil (Malayalam: മീനച്ചിൽ) is the north-eastern region of Kottayam district in Kerala, south India. The name originates from Meenakshi the Dravidian goddess. Palai is the main town in Meenachil. The arterial river of the district is also named Meenachil. The river finds mention in Arundhati Roy's Booker Prize-winning novel, The God of Small Things.
The Meenachil River, also known as Kavanar, originates at vagamon in the Western Ghats of Kerala, flows westward through Erattupetta, Palai, Kidangoor, Ettumanoor and Kottayam. Its length is about 87 kilometers. Near Kottayam it splits into a number of distributaries before emptying into the Vembanad Lake. Kumarakom, the bird sanctuary and tourist resort is on one such branch.
The current Meenachil taluk was a principality under the local chieftains, the Meenachil Karthas (also known as Njavakkat Karthas) before Marthanda Varma annexed it to Travancore in 1754. The name of the place comes from Goddess Meenakshi, the deity of the Karthas. Veera Kerala Damodara Simhar was a chieftain belonging to this family. The southern bank of the river was the kingdom of Thekkumkoor, the capital of which was Changanassery, and the northern bank, that of Vadakkumkoor, with its capital at Kaduthuruthy. The Poonjar royal family also held sway over significant areas of the district towards the east.
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